Marcus followed the lad along through the large tunnel, it was easily wide enough for three men to walk standing up and side by side. It took the two of them a quarter of an hour to reach where the men had been stationed.
“<Halt! Who goes there?>” A voice called out from the darkness.
“<Hades!>” Quintus called out.
“<Advance friend and be recognised.>” The same voice said and both Marcus and Quintus walked forward and saw a legionary step out of the darkness and salute them both on recognising them.
<Report.>” Marcus said.
“<Sir, I am Antonius Lupus Vulcanus, Legionaire of the Ninth, and once blacksmith, we’ve been stationed here for the past three hours, as the Octio ordered, there’s no movement close to the mouth of the tunnel but it’s another Hades damned forest sir…>” The legionary said with a tired smile.
Marcus nodded and moved towards the entrance, nodding occasionally to legionaries he recognised, and some he didn’t, and peered out the slightly lighter darkness in front of him.
What he saw was indeed another forest but this one looked different, more wild than the last one, but in a way less dangerous. He stood there with his hand on his jaw, lost in thought, before his inner danger sense started to tickle.
“<Alright,” Marcus said to no one in particular, “wait here while I check on things back at the other entrance, if nothing shows itself as a danger we’ll make our way outside and try to meet up with the rest of the Legion.>”
“<Sir!>” Came the reply.
Marcus turned away from the entrance and made his way back to Quintus. “<Stay here,” Marcus told the lad, “I’ll be back soon, until then you’ve got command here.>” He then smiled as the lad saluted and nodded. No words were needed between the two, orders had been given and received and that was it.
Marcus made his way slowly back towards the main group. He smiled as he came back towards them only to ‘feel’ a tingle in his ‘danger’ sense. This sense had never let him down yet, and he opened his mouth quickly. “<LEGIONARIES ALERT!>” He bellowed just in time to see the rocks start to fall away from the main entrance slowly.
Within moments all the remaining legionaries were armed, at full alert, and ready to fight. Even the most inexperienced amongst them were shielded and had their gladius out at at the ready. If the situation hadn’t been so dire Marcus would have had a smile on his face.
“<Ordered retreat, pull back through the tunnel, double quick, NOW!>” Marcus ordered and noticed his men quickly complied. He grabbed the first amongst them and whispered the watchword to him, he didn’t want any of his men accidently killed by their fellow troops.
He waited a full five minutes as the last of the troops had passed him as he made his own way down the tunnel. He could hear the rocks falling faster behind him and soon could make up the sounds, and smells, of the Picts behind him as he jogged along the tunnel.
Before he’d made his way more than a third of the way to the other end he could hear their footsteps behind him. By the time he’d been within fifty yards of the last of his troops he could see the light of the Pictish torches behind him.
Marcus raised his hand and motioned Quintus to get through the tunnel mouth as he thundered along towards it himself. He quickly dived out the entrance and rolled along through the forest floor until his head made contact with something hard and that was the last he remembered.